Hair comb cleaner



Fb. l, 1955 J. w. MCCLURE HAIR COME CLEANER Filed July 26, 1954 INVENTOR dol-IN W2 MCCLURE.

ATTORNEW United States Patent O HAIR COMB CLEANER John W. McClure, St. Joseph, Mo.

Application July 26, 1954, Serial No. 445,620

4 Claims. (Cl. 15-39) This invention relates to hair comb cleaners.

An important object of the invention -is to provide a hair comb cleaner in which a plurality of cylindrical Ibrushes are adapted to rotate in a container, the brushes lbeing arranged in pairs, one pair above another, to provide a long cleaning area, and any or all of them being readily removable and replaceable when the need occurs for cleaning any or all of the brushes or renewing them.

Another important object is to provide a hair comb cleaner in which bearings, within a container, carry a plurality of brushes and these bearings are readily reached for thorough sterilization upon removal of the brushes.

Still another important object is to prov-ide a hair comb cleaner in which opposite upwardly-extending walls of a container carry bearing structures for brushes, which structures extend from the walls, whereby a substantial support for the bearings is provided although the structures project into the container in only a limited way, and they are not apt to be broken olf even if the container and bearings are of glass or like material which may be fractured.

Another important object is to provide a h'air comb cleaner in which bea-rings for rotating brushes are disposed below the mouth of a container at all times, whereby they are not exposed in such a way that they may become broken.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be -apparent during the course of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a portion of this disclosure, and in which drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the new hair comb cleaner in use.

Fig. 2 is a top plan of the new cleaner.

lFig. 3 is .a vertical section of the new cleaner, substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4, w-ith brushes in end elevation.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section, with Ibrushes in side elevation, and taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section, substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, but with a comb between two brushes.

Fig. 6 is -a vertical section, substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

-In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein similar reference cha-racters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter A designates the hair comb cleaner and B a hair comb.

The hair comb cleaner A includes a container or housing 10 with opposite upwardly-extending wall portions 11 joined by upwardly-extending wall portions 12, and a bottom wall portion 13 joining the portions 11 and 12 and defining an open-mouthed compartment 14. The upper edges of the wall portions 11 and 12 are preferably llat and all in substantially the same horizontal plane.

Within the housing 10 are elong-ated bearing structures 15 carried to project into the compartment 14 from the inner faces of the wall portions 11 and disposed well inwardly of the wall portions 12.

Preferably four bearings 16 are provided for each structure 15 and comprise the walls of four spaced-apart horizontally-extending lateral grooves projecting from a vertically-extending centrally-disposed elongated groove 17. The structures 15 end short of the upper edges of the wall portions 11 and 12. The outer ends of the bearings 16 Iare preferably rounded and spaced from the longitudinal center of the groove 17. Of course the width of 2,700,782 Patented Feb. 1, 1955 ICC all the grooves is such that they will movably contain the shafts of the brushes 30 to be subsequently described.

It is preferred that the housing 10 and bearing structures 15 be of molded hardened synthetic plastic material, with the bearing structures secured permanently to their respective wall portions 11 as is well known in the plastic art, and the structures 15 may each extend, by way of example, one-quarter inch toward the axial center of the compartment 14.

A removable closure 20, for the compartment 14, is preferably provided and has -a horizontally-disposed cover portion 21 with a comb-receiving slot or opening 22 and upwardly-extending marginal flange portions 23 ending in outwardly-extending narrow horizontal marginal flange portions 24 which are adapted to rest upon the upper edges of the wall portions 11 and 12. The closure 20 is preferably of the same material as that of the housing 10. Of course the flange portions 23 engage parts of the wall portions 11 and 12 and prevent side play on the closure.

The brushes 30 are cylindrical and each comprises a shaft 31 and bristles 32 extending therefrom. The free ends of the shafts are adapted to be inserted into and slid along the groove 17 and then enter the bearings 16. The bristles 32 are preferably fairly stiff and their lengths are such that at the bristles of one brush of a pair of brushes extend partly into the spaces between the bristles of the companion brush, as is clear in Fig. 3, yet a hair comb B may be inserted, in the direction of its longitudinal axis, between the two brushes as is clear in Fig. 5, and the tips of bristles will enter the spaces between the teeth of the comb.

I have discovered that the use of but two brushes, s-ide by side, does not tend to thoroughly clean a comb and, moreover, when 4a comb-receiving slot is provided in ya closure and but two such brushes are employed, there is often a tendency on the part of the operator to cant the comb as he reciprocates it in cleaning and the side of the teeth engage the edges ofthe slot and dam-age the comb or the closure. By the use of two spaced-apart pairs of brushes, as disclosed, the comb is held substantially vertically during reciprooation.

The brushes 30 may be dropped into the tilted housing 10 upon rst inserting the end portions of the shafts 31 into the opposite grooves 17 and then manipulating the end portions into the bearings 16. The brushes may be readily manipulated, by hand to remove them, but the insertion, reciprocation and removal of a comb will not dislodge them. A

=It is suggested that the cleaning and/or sterilizing liquid lbe introduced prior to insertion of the brushes and its level be below the lower pair of brushes. Obviously, the height of the compartment 114 up to the bottom of the lowermost pair should be at least slightly greater than the length of an average hair comb.

The bearing structures 15 reinforce the wall portions 11 and the latter, in turn, reinforce the structures 15.

Various changes may be made to the form of the invention herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A hair comb cleaner including a container having wall portions, including opposite wall portions, defining a compartment with some of the wall portions having upper edges defining a mouth for the compartment, a pair of oppositely-disposed elongated bearing structures extending from the opposite wall portions and projecting into the compartment, each structure having an elongated longitudinally-extending groove and a plurality of spacedapart pairs of laterally-extending bearing grooves opening to the longitudinallycxtending groove with the end mouths of the pairs of bea-ring grooves opposite one another, and pairs of brushes, each brush having a shaft land bristles extend-ing outwardly from the shaft, with the end portions of the shafts rotatably and removably disposed in like bearing grooves of each bearing structure, the diameter of the end portions of each shaft being less than the width of either elongated groove, and tips of the ybristles of the brushes being disposed to contact a hair comb inserted between pairs of brushes.

2. A hair comb cleaner according to claim 1 charac` terized in that the elongated grooves have end mouths disposed spaced from the upper edges of the wall por tions with which the bearing structures are integral.

3. A hair comb cleaner including a container having wall port-ions, including opposite wall portions, defining a compartment with some of the wall portions having upper edges defining a mouth for the compartment, a pair of oppositely-disposed elongated bearing structures extending from the opposite wall portions and projecting into the compartment, each structure having an elongated longitudinally-extending groove and a plurality of spaced-apart pairs of laterally-extending bearing grooves opening to the longitudinally-extending groove with the end mouths of the pairs of bearing grooves opposite one another, a closure having outer edge portions disposed upon the upper edges and provided with a hair combreceiving, slot and pairs of brushes, each brush having a shaft and bristles extending outwardly from the shaft, with the end portions of the shafts rotatably and removably disposed in like bearing grooves of each bearing structure, the diameter of the end portions of each shaft being less than the width of either elongated groove and the tips of the bristles of the 'brushes being disposed to contact a hair comb inserted between pairs of brushes and into the slot, one pair of brushes being spaced from adjacent pairs of brushes and the plane of the edges of the slot extending through the tips of the bristles.

4. A hair comb cleaner according to claim 3 characterized in 4that the longitudinal axis of the slot intersects the longitudinal axes of the elongated grooves.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,392,189 Makie Sept. 27, 1921 2,228,443 Costa Ian. 14, 1941 2,668,305 Troendle Feb. 9, 1954 

